19/03/2016
NEWS STORY
As children, our parents responsibility was to provide us with the tools with which to lead a successful life. Our parents were there with a steady hand to guide us, subtly, though the trials and tribulations that face a young life; helping us tie our shoes, dropping us off at football practice, washing our mouths out with soap when we learned a new word. That is only part of a parent's job. The easy part. The hard part is letting children make their own mistakes.
In qualifying, Formula One made a mistake of running with scissors proportions. As so many in the sport stood back the sport missed a step and fell flat on its face, all while under the gaze of the watching world.
The new qualifying format was farcical. From the moment it was announced it was painfully clear to see that teams would not run if they were satisfied with their position.
That was for two reasons. Firstly, if they were satisfied there would be no need to attempt to improve, especially when the cars behind have been eliminated. Secondly there is no incentive to chase as it burns tyres.
The new format encourages increased use of tyres. When forced to make a decision teams will almost always opt to protect their rubber for the race at the sacrifice of qualifying, knowing full well that an extra tenth over a single lap on Saturday counts for nothing if you run out of grip on lap 3 on Sunday.
Of course on top of that is the wear and tear on the gearbox and engine, and while it may be comparatively minimal (certainly if you've something as seemingly bulletproof as the Mercedes) it's a factor that would be weighed in. Risk versus reward.
And this new system has come at the expense of a format that was popular, that had proved itself successful and was already complicated enough, thank you very much.
What we had fit the television format, it told a story as it progressed and had predictable and meaningful breaks as if chapters in a book. The tempo was good and it all culminated in a satisfying result in which the fastest was challenged for his mantle.
There was no need to change it. The spectacle has not been spiced up because of it. If anything there's less interest because the intrigue of the final moments of qualifying simply didn't exist. Nor does it look likely to exist.
The guardians of Formula One have today allowed the sport to make a mistake. It's now their responsibility to pick it up, dust it off and make sure it learns from the sordid situation.
Mat Coch
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